I’ve been reading a lot of books about prayer and praying.  They’ve given me helpful insights and practices to incorporate into my own prayer life with God.  But I noticed that while a lot of these books quoted various scriptures to illuminate a particular point or highlight a particular aspect of prayer, I noticed that there wasn’t a lot of focus on how Jesus actually prayed: on his own, with others, for himself, and for others.  I invite you to read the following Bible passages (and, yes, you should read them in context), and write down any insights these texts give you in learning to pray like Jesus.

On his own: Mark 1: 35, Mark 6: 46, Luke 5: 16, Matthew 14: 23

With others: Luke 6: 12-13, Luke 9: 28

For himself: Matthew 26: 39-44, John 17: 1-5

For others: Matthew 19: 13, Luke 22: 31-33, John 17: 6-26

What did you notice?  Anything surprising?

What is one new, or different prayer practice of Jesus you can follow in the coming week?  Then reflect on how it went and what you experienced?  Then keep going. 

More thoughts and questions on prayer coming next week after I prepare for part 2 for Sunday.